APTN National News
Thunder Bay police have not determined if they are upgrading charges against Brayden Bushby.
Bushby is accused of throwing a trailer hitch out of the car he was travelling in that struck Barbara Kentner in the abdomen on Jan. 28, 2017.
Bushby was charged with aggravated assault shortly after the incident.
Kentner died in Thunder Bay July, 4.
Thunder Bay police spokesperson Chris Adams said investigators will wait for a coroner’s report before acting on new charges. A post mortem is scheduled for Friday.
Once the report is released, both the investigators and the Crown prosecutor will review the case and decide whether to upgrade charges.
Adams was unsure how long the process will take.
When Bushby was initially charged investigators did not feel there was enough evidence to call the crime hate-motivated.
However section 718.2 of the criminal code allows for ‘hate based on race’ to be considered in sentencing after the conviction of a crime.
everyone seems to have an opinion on this subject but you people should give the family time to mourn and see what they want to do, Maybe they just want to remember barb as she was not to what people are making her out to be,its not up to you to decide its up to them sure its hateful but just bringing up white v.s native only keeps racism alive. yes im native but i only know people as one race its called the human race. I hear the stereotypes against native people but i dont let that discourage me from anything. I have a purpose to live as we all do and how you do things is up to you….i was taught respect for all living things no matter what and i teach my kids the same sometimes people fall but its up to you to make change not keep hatred alive. Everyone has an opinion but i think keeping this hatred for bushby is keeping the racism alive. You are making it a race fight and sometimes it dont help anything. Keep it as a crime and not a race v.s race.
it was a hate crime 100% and I think the family should sue also no one deserves to have a trailer hitch thrown at them on purpose its very wrong.
This was a hate crime all the way around. Pretty sure he wasn’t hunting white ppl that night. The kids in the car should also be charged with conspiracy to commit a hate crime. They knew what he was doing and they helped him.
Barbara did not deserve to die this way. Life was hard for her , her entire life was a struggle to stay afloat. Barbara should have lived to a ripe old age, instead she passed away before she ever got the chance to see her beautiful daughters life unfold. She’ll never see and know her grandchildren, or watch her daughter graduate. These things are stilll a possibility for Branden Bushby. Throw the book at this kid. It might teach these young ppl that this is not allowed!
We must all exercise vigilance on this occurance. That means reading whatever appears in the media about the details. This death, if it is proven to be caused by the attack and especially if the attack was deliberate and/or racially motivated, requires punishment to the full extent of the law. No one deserves to walk in fear of retribution for who they are or what they believe. Failure to prosecute adequately sends a message of tolerance of unspeakable acts. Let’s keep watch on this story and raise Hell if it starts to disappear without proper scrutiny.
IF THAT WAS A NATIVE MAN THAT THROW THE TRAILER HITCH AND THE VICTIM WAS A NON-NATIVE WOMAN, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN BEATEN FIRST BY POLICE AND THEN ASKED QUESTIONS LATER….HE WOULD ALREADY BEEN CHARGED WITH MURDER OR MANSLAUGHTER…..
I do not know the victim or the accused. So let me get this straight, “I got one” statements are not considered hate crimes when heavy, solid objects are intentionally thrown directly at a person? A person responsible for death is held accountable, any drivers are people associated at the time of assault should be also held accountable for death, or at least as accomplices.
This woman is a person, she is dead, because of hate, or even somebody just thinking it would be funny to hurt someone. There is no excuse for one’s actions when someone’s life is killed. Accountibility has to be held, and not ignored.
Regarding the accused Brayden Bushby, in order for justice to prevail, the Thunder Bay police have to upgrade the charges to murder from aggravated assault. If the accused deliberately aimed, and witnessed, at the now deceased Barbara Kentner, the charge can be murder in the first degree. Throwing a lethal object at a person was premeditated. Extreme harm was intended in the case. Now that the victim died of the assault, it is imperative that Bushby be reined a more serious charge.
The charge should be upgraded to manslaughter. I hope the family sues for wrongful death as well. Sue all four families. NO child raised properly would ever behave this way. Make the parents pay too.
Sue the person throwing the trailer hitch, and the owner of the vehicle, there is no justification for throwing a object to hit and hurt a human being, they should be sued for everything they have, house , money ,etc.
How is that nor a hate crime? Throwing a hitch at someone u dont know and saying “I got one”. Ugh that’s so awful, the poor lady that endured so much pain for the last months of her life. Knowing your going to die and being terrified of it. That is so so so heartbreaking!!